With over 15,000 residents, Ward 85 of the Coimbatore Corporation extends from Edayar Street in the north of Ukkadam-Perur Bypass Road in the south, and from Selvachinthamani Tank to Chetty Street-Sullivan Street in the east.
One of the important issues at present in the thickly populated ward is shortage of drinking water. Ward 85 is one of the Siruvani-fed wards and therefore the impact of water shortage is more. The corporation supplies water once in 12 days. But that has not been enough for the residents who took to the streets to protest, says former Councillor, P. Nachimuthu.
Water supply alone is not the problem, sewage disposal also is, says Ashok Nagar resident B. Leela Krishnan. The difference in level between the UGD pipeline and the natural drain coupled with the natural gradient have resulted in reverse flow of sewage into homes.
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The residents complained to the corporation about a month-and-half ago. It took steps but the solution has to be permanent, he says.
For Govindasamy Layout residents the important issue is the corporation closing the park. A few years ago the corporation had developed the reserved site and named it Semmozhi Poonga. It had installed children’s play equipment and the park was put to maximum use. But now it is out of bound for the residents as the corporation removed the equipment. The civic body should throw open the park at the earliest, says resident K.N. Rajesh.
Discharge of effluents from the north into the Selvachinthamani Tank is another important issue. The Corporation should first stop the inflow of effluents and then clean the tank so that it helps recharge ground water, says N. Thangavelan, a resident of KC Thottam.
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Coimbatore Corporation sources say that efforts are on to clean the tank under the area based development component of Smart Cities. As for the Govindasamy Layout park, the civic body has taken up construction work. Once that is done, it will restore the children’s play equipment.